SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr by John Crowley

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr by John Crowley https://t.co/KgwEI25BJ7 Short Review: 4 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 29, 2018

Short Review (cont): A book following the tales of an Immortal crow (Dar Oakley) throughout time as he encounters both a growing humanity and a changing afterlife, has interesting moments but fails to come together to form a cohesive whole. (2/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 29, 2018

Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr is a genuinely strange book.  The book is ostensibly the stories of an immortal (maybe?) crow over thousands of years, as it and its fellow crows first encounter the humans of Europe and then later America and modernization.  The single theme that recurs in these stories is that crow's - the eponymous Dar Oakley - frequent journeys to what seems to be a strange other realm, seemingly inhabited by the dead.  All of these stories are told by Dar Oakley to an old man in the modern day world who is mourning the recent death of his wife to disease.

The result is....well, uneven would be the wrong word.  Many of the stories told in this book are interesting, often heartbreaking, and yet they're kind of all over the place.  Some of these stories include the journeys to the realm of the dead which seems to be the constant theme throughout the book, while others are just Dar Oakley and the crows learning to adapt to more modern humans coming around them, and the result is less than the sum of its parts, leaving me feeling like I'm not sure what the overall point of the story was.

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SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Deep Roots (The Innsmouth Legacy #2) by Ruthanna Emrys https://t.co/8iwjDRZiQm Short Review: 9 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 27, 2018

Short Review (cont): The sequel to "Winter Tide," Deep Roots continues the series' subversion of Lovecraft as our Deep One protagonist, Aphra Marsh, tries to rebuild her family from its racist genocide and faces an unearthly threat to her newfound bonds/family. Really good (2/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 27, 2018

Deep Roots is the sequel to last year's Winter Tide, a book by Ruthanna Emrys that I liked a lot (Review Here).  Lovecraft adaptations are not usually my thing, as I've never read any of the source material or had any interest in doing so - although knowing about the racism inherent in those stories is probably a large part of that lack of interest (my lack of interest in horror is the other part).  Still, Winter Tide was a member of an increasingly more common genre - the Lovecraft subversion - and flipped around Lovecraft's ideas to address issues of racism and persecution and their effects on families and the result was a really interesting and effective story.

Deep Roots continues with these themes - following Aphra Marsh and her brother Caleb - the last survivors on land of the Deep Ones of Innsmouth after the US Government rounded them up into camps - and their friends (gathered in Winter Tide) as they arrive in New York City and search for extensions of their family.  Naturally what they find is far more than they bargained for, and they wind up facing other Lovecraftian creatures from outside our world who threaten Aphra's connection to her family.  The result is a book that's at least as strong as Winter Tide, and is definitely recommended.

Note:  While Deep Roots is a stand-alone sequel, it's still a sequel and you will undoubtedly be a little lost if you start the series with this book instead of Winter Tide.  I definitely recommend picking up Winter Tide first.

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SciFi/Fantasy Novella Review: Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells

Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells:

Rogue Protocol is the third novella (of four) in Martha Wells' "The Murderbot Diaries", which began with last year's "All Systems Red." (Review Here) and continued with this year's "Artificial Condition" (Review Here).  As I've said before, All Systems Red was my pick for this year's Hugo Award for Best Novella (and it won the Award) and I enjoyed Artificial Condition as well, so I was eagerly anticipating this volume becoming available from the library and snatched it up as soon as it was.  The good news is that the quality of this novella has not gone down one bit from its predecessors, with it maybe being as good as the initial novella.  I continue to recommend this series to anyone looking for short fiction.

Note:  The Murderbot Diary novellas essentially function and feel like episodes of a TV Show - Each follows from the events of the other, even if a small time period elapses between them.  The Result is that they are not really stand alone outside of the first novella, so do not begin the story with Rogue Protocol - you won't be hopelessly confused if you do so, but you'll miss enough to lose most of the impact and goodness I would think.  

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Fantasy Book Review: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: https://t.co/AxkofRkVtz Short Review: 5.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 23, 2018

Short Review(cont): The spiritual successor to Uprooted, this book tells of a group of young women trying to outwit those who would use them-a Jew wanted by a Fae king for being able to turn silver to gold, most prominently. But the result is very muddled & disappointing (2/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 23, 2018

Spinning Silver is the second novel (as far as I can tell) by Naomi Novik outside of her most well known work, her 9 book Temeraire series.  It is essentially a spiritual successor to her award winning Uprooted - not in a sense of the book having any shared continuity with Uprooted, but in it being another book where Novik weaves a story based around her own adaptation of various threads of folklore.  You may have seen Spinning Silver advertised in a fashion as a modern retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, but outside of the broadest outlines, it's more of a fresh adaptation of a hodgepodge of folklore into a more new story

That said, while I really enjoyed Uprooted (which deservedly won the Nebula), Spinning Silver was a bit more of a miss for me.  Where Uprooted had a single strong voice as its narrator, Spinning Silver begins with two narrators and adds more as the story goes along, with new voices showing up all the way through around 50-60% of the way through (there are six or seven such first person narrators in all, if I'm not miscounting).  Between that and the multiple plots of various scopes going on at the same time, the result for me was a book that was a bit muddled and often had me not caring at what was going on, even though I was interested in seeing what happened next for other parts.

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SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Witchmark by C.L. Polk

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Witchmark by C.L. Polk https://t.co/3nHMVEJW8j Short Review: 7.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 20, 2018

Short Review (cont): A fantasy story featuring magic that's part mystery, part conspiracy thriller, and part LGBTQ romance, Witchmark is a decent start to a new fantasy duology, even if it's not the most unpredictable of books (2/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 20, 2018

Witchmark is the first in a fantasy duology by CL Polk, featuring an alternate fantasy world in which is recovering from its version of a world war.  It's a world of open and hidden magic that forms the basis for a plot that is a combination of a mystery, an LGBTQ romance, and a conspiracy thriller.  How well does it mold these elements?  It's a bit of a mixed bag - the mystery and thriller elements are done perfectly well - if being done in a way that is fairly predictable - while the romance didn't quite work for me.  Still, overall it's a solid start to this new 2 book series and I will be coming back for the sequel most likely.

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SciFi/Fantasy Novella Review: The Descent of Monsters by J.Y. Yang

The Descent of Monsters by J.Y. Yang

The Descent of Monsters is the third in J.Y. Yang's "Tensorate" series of novellas, the first two of which - The Black Tides of Heaven and The Red Threads of Fortune - came out simultaneously last year (I reviewed both HERE).  Descent can stand on his own probably pretty well, although readers of the prior two novellas will probably get a little more out of it (particularly those who have read "The Red Threads," as this novella heavily involves that novella's major character "Rider"), and since those novellas are very good, I do recommend you start there instead.  Either way, Descent, while shorter than the original two novellas, is very good and by far the wittiest of the series, while still having some strong emotional impact.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Cryoburn (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold: https://t.co/xhnfb0d2sG Short Review: 7 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) August 17, 2018

Short Review (cont): The most recent Miles Vorkosigan adventure features him in an investigation on a planet obsessed with cryo-freezing and finds him nosing his way against a conspiracy led by a powerful cryocorp. Fun but non-essential, best for lovers of this great series (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) August 17, 2018

Cryoburn is most recent book in the Vorkosigan Saga to feature the series' most prominent hero, Miles Vorkosigan.*  As with the last two Miles adventures, Komarr and Diplomatic Immunity, it features Miles being sent to a new place to investigate what seems like a simple-ish mystery only for him to get involved in something far larger.  And since Miles is a manic nutjob whose brilliance results in him acting quite often on crazy instincts and taking crazy risks, the result is yet again a fast paced and often nutty adventure.

*Two books have been published since - Captain Vorpatril's Alliance which I reviewed previously and features Ivan and Gentleman Jole which features Cordelia.  Miles is in both, but in smaller less central roles.  

That said, it's probably my least favorite of the books to feature Miles in his second career as Imperial Auditor (as a detective basically).  The world featured in the book is done extremely well, with a really interesting premise: like you might guess from the title, the book features a world obsessed with Cryo-freezing, to the point where its entire political system is based upon the votes of people who are actually frozen.  But the actual adventure featured just doesn't live up to the earlier ones for me, though it's still enjoyable.

Note:  You could in theory start this book as your first novel in the Vorkosigan Saga - as nothing up until the very ending chapter requires any foreknowledge.  That said, I wouldn't begin here, given there are similar entry points earlier in the series which don't have that ending problem (see Komarr, for example).

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers: https://t.co/rx8bI39z14 Short Review: 9 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 15, 2018

Short Review (cont): Telling the stories of five humans on the Exodus Fleet, carrying the survivors of Earth around a borrowed star, Record of a Spaceborn Few has practically no overarching plot, but oh are its characters and their stories utterly fantastic. So recommended (2/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 15, 2018

  Record of a Spaceborn Few is the third novel in Becky Chambers' SciFi Universe that began with A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (also known as the "Wayfarer" series).  The prior two books in the universe, ALWtaSAP and A Closed and Common Orbit were absolutely terrific books (the first book has one of my favorite chapters ever) filled with amazing characters and very little in way of plot, and this book continues that tradition.  Note that despite being the third book set in this universe, do note, that this book is entirely stand-alone and can be read by a new reader to this universe without any problems whatsoever - the events of the first book come up in very very mild passing, and outside knowledge will add no significance to this story.

  In fact, Record of a Spaceborn Few has the least semblance of an overarching plot of the entire series, with the book essentially featuring the lives of five characters in a setting that can best be described as a socialist SciFi setting (in space of course) that has been forced to change after interactions with capitalist intergalactic society (and other races of course).  It features very little species other than humans - unlike the prior books - and can sometimes be a little preachy.  And yet it is absolutely fantastic - with each character's experiences in this setting being very different, and yet feeling very real and interesting to read about as they wind up ending in very different places.  If you want to read a book that is a masterclass in terms of creating a different and interesting cast of characters, a Becky Chambers book will easily fit the bill, and this book does so as much if not more than her prior two stories.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline https://t.co/gmZ1cqRT0m Short Review: 8 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16(@garik16) August 13, 2018

Short Review (cont): In a post-apocalyptic future, where Native Peoples find themselves hunted for their abilities to dream, French & a group of other Native survivors find themselves on the run and searching for some type of future. Very strong. (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) August 13, 2018

The Marrow Thieves is the second Native-written SF/F book I've read this month - Rebecca Roanhorse's "Trail of Lightning" - and the second one to feature a post-apocalyptic setting.  That is the extent of the similarities (on the surface at least) - whereas Trail of Lightning is a fantasy story using Native myths (with serious issues discussed mind you), The Marrow Thieves is a science fiction dystopian story about a people hunted for their genes.  Not that Trail of Lightning was a "light" story (or that there are no light moments in this book), but the result is a much darker post-apocalyptic novel which uses its setting to make some pointed comment about how the world actually is in the present...and of course has been in the past.

And this results in a very effective and good story, thanks to a very strong protagonist whose story is told in his first person as he struggles to survive in this world with the group of characters he winds up in.  The story at times seems unclear in where it's going, and ends in on a very different note than I would have expected even 2/3 of the way in, but it all works and the direction of the plot directly follows from its conflicted main character and never really seems arbitrary.

Trigger Warning: Rape as backstory.  The details are not described, and it is a purposeful part of the backstory that fits the setting, so it is not spurious, but it's there for at least one character.  

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SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga)

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold https://t.co/l5EcL5nYIw Short Review: 8 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 10, 2018

Short Review (cont): A stand-alone Vorkosigan Saga novel focuses the plot entirely around Ivan, the usual comic-relief foil/straight-man of the series, as he accidentally gets married, falls in love, and deals with wacky hijinks. Often hilarious & a lot of fun. (2/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 10, 2018

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is essentially a spin-off novel in Lois McMaster Bujold's "Vorkosigan Saga" - rather than following any of the series' most famous family - such as Cordelia, Miles, or Mark Vorkosigan - it's a story following entirely the series' most prominent secondary character: Captain Ivan Vorpatril.  After a first appearance where Ivan is basically unrecognizable, Ivan has usually served as the foil to the main hero of the series, acting as the straight man to Miles Vorkosigan's manic plotting, who keeps getting roped into - hilariously - the Vorkosigan family's schemes.*  As Ivan and Miles once discussed earlier in the series:

“Miles: Do you think of yourself as an innocent bystander?” 
“God knows I try to be,” sighed Ivan"  

But this book is all about Ivan, not any Vorkosigan, and his life and wants.  And he's just as great - not to mention hilarious - as a main protagonist as he is as a supporting character, being able to carry this book with ease.  Bujold has always been great at creating wonderful characters and wonderful dialogue, and this book again has them in spades, with both the returning secondary characters and the new ones being wonderful and often hilarious compliments to the story.  I wouldn't call this book one of the best books in the series, mind you, but it's definitely among the better ones, and this is a series that sets a pretty high standard.

Note:  This book is a stand-alone, and CAN be read by a newcomer to the series.  It might not be where I'd start the series, but it should work pretty well if someone wants to do so and I think newcomers will enjoy this book quite a lot.  Veterans of the series however will enjoy quite a bit of references as characters and ideas do return from prior adventures, though getting these references are not in any way necessary to enjoy the story.

SciFi/Fantasy Novella Review: Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani

Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani

Sunbolt is an interesting story in its construction, at the very least.  It's a novella length (153 pages) work that has a sequel which is more clearly a novel in length, and very much feels like a prequel to a longer series.  It sets up its world reasonably well, with intrigue in various areas, as well as its main character and some side characters, but doesn't really end in a way that makes the book feel one-and-done - readers will be at best wondering what happens next, even if there isn't a big cliffhanger ending.  And even outside of the book's part of an ongoing series, Sunbolt is weirdly a book in two parts - its first part seems to follow a young thief try to aid a resistance group against a powerful dictator, while its second half suddenly features mages, vampires, and a plot that is incredibly similar to Robin McKinley's classic Sunshine.  The overall package is executed well enough that I will be taking a crack at its sequel, but the feeling of derivation from other works is kind of hard to shake.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Circe by Madeline Miller https://t.co/HlkpVY6g1X Short Review: 8.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) August 6, 2018

Short Review(cont): A novel retelling a series of Greek myths from the perspective of the witch Circe as she struggles to find some purpose & happiness in her immortal life, "Circe" is an excellent character story worth your time, whether youre familiar with the myths or no (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) August 6, 2018

    Madeline Miller's "Circe" is an adaptation and reinterpretation of many parts of Greek Mythology, centered around the immortal sorceress/witch Circe (well, duh) from her own perspective.  Circe, in various sources, shows up a bunch of times throughout Greek mythology - most famously in Homer's Odyssey, but she appears directly or tangentially in a number of other myths.  As an avid reader of Greek and Roman mythology growing up, and having read more of it during my K-12 education (I took both Latin and Ancient Greek in high school, so mythology was a consistently referenced subject), Circe's premise definitely intrigued me when I first saw the book recommended on twitter.

  That recommendation is definitely deserved - Circe is a really really excellent book, whether or not you know of the myths being retold/reinterpreted or not.  I was familiar probably with about 70-80% of the tales, but found myself enjoying this interpretation of the tales I knew quite a lot even with some foreknowledge of what was almost certainly going to happen as well as the parts where I could not recall whether they were wholly the author's invention or based upon some unknown myth.  Miller takes these tales and by changing the perspective, comes out with a fresh (and somewhat feminist as you might expect) story that is well worth your time, if it's a bit slow at first.

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SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia https://t.co/xjiGhEiGN9 Short Review: 7.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) August 3, 2018

Short Review (cont): A story featuring many types of Vampires, a vampire and human gang war, and an ill advised romance in Mexico City makes an extremely well done setting for a vampire story + good characters, even if it wont appeal to those who dont like vampire stories (2/3)

— garik16 (@garik16) August 3, 2018

Certain Dark Things is the second book I've read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia but the first real Scifi/Fantasy story (the other, The Beautiful Ones, is really a full Romance Novel with very very minor fantastical elements, but is excellent and well worth your time).  It's also a vampire story, a genre I don't read much of, but one that's very different from most such stories I've seen.  A Vampire/Gangster story set in Mexico City, featuring a naive human boy, a vampire-hunting bitter policewoman, and a Mexican/Aztec Vampire girl on the run from a European Vampire gang, Certain Dark Things stands out by virtue of its very different setting.  And well, it's also rather good.

If you don't like vampire stories, Certain Dark Things won't change your mind.  If you're merely ambivalent like myself, I think you'll enjoy it.  Also note I "read" this book as an audiobook, and the reader is pretty good, so if you want to read in that format, go right ahead.

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SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Girl in the Green Silk Gown by Seanan McGuire

SciFi/Fantasy Review: The Girl in the Green Silk Gown by Seanan McGuire https://t.co/7shwEX6up9 Short Review: 6 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 1, 2018

Short Review (cont): The 2nd book - and 1st novel-length story - featuring hitchhiking ghost Rose Marshall as she finds herself unwillingly resurrected and forced to find a way back to "death" & to her non-living friends is solid but misses the intrigue of the ghost roads (2/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) August 1, 2018

  The Girl in the Green Silk Gown is the second "book" in Seanan McGuire's "Ghost Roads" urban fantasy series, following the hitchhiking ghost Rose Marshall.  I say "second book" and I need to qualify that statement - the Ghost Roads series takes place in the same universe as her inCryptid stories (and shares some characters at times) and the first book, Sparrow Hill Road, is really more of a collection of previously published short stories.  As such, that first book wasn't one cohesive story, but about twelve stories with common characters and themes and a common long-term plot arc.  The Girl in the Green Silk Gown is the first book therefore in this series to be one novel-length story from beginning to end.

  And well...the result is okay.  I liked The Girl in the Green Silk Gown overall, but it borders on the edge of Decent/Good and never gets higher than that, unlike some of the short stories which made up its predecessor (which I thought were really good).  I think a large part of that is that the book separates Rose from the world that makes her truly interesting - the "world" of the Twilight, where various ghosts of different types reside. The result is a solid story sure, but one that just doesn't have the special things that we see in her related inCryptid and totally separate October Daye series.

Note: You do not need to read Sparrow Hill Road necessarily to read this book - like her inCryptid books, McGuire tries to recap what you need to know in the first few chapters - but it is highly recommended you do so.